BlueBay Grand Esmeralda

The restaurants was great, Leo the manager was very accommodating and professional. Shout out to our waiter Romolo that offer us a great and kind service. So far this was the most enjoyable and best experience in the hotel. Thanks

Our group of 8 recently returned from BlueBay Grand Esmeralda. We had a large week, great experience that had us wondering if we were at the same resort that people were giving such horrible reviews of!?! Truly it was hard to find anything to complain about!! The food was great with many options at breakfast, lunch or dinner. I found it impressive that the staff were making note of any allergies each time we entered the buffets. I don't use cow milk so I was thrilled to have soy milk every morning for my coffee. I appreciated this so much as in previous travels I always have to pack soy/almond milk. We enjoyed that the main buffet had a mimosa station to enjoy if you'd like before you entered for breakfast. The a al cartes were excellent. It was annoying to have to go the the concierge early each morning to book the next days reservation. It would have been great to just book the week and have it done. Our group really enjoyed all a la cartes all the same! I am an early riser as I like to walk the beach at sunrise. I also like to get a palapa for shade. There were only 6 palapas on the beach outside of the upgraded area. This was surprising. I was on the beach by 6:15am every morning and got a palapa. If I was there any later that would not have been possible. Our group of 8 shared the shade all day. I would love to see more palapas that's for sure as there is definitely room for more. The beach bar was awesome especially the swings. Great service...If you don't plan on sitting at the swings, you just stand in line at the end of the bar for quick service. Also, lots of drink variety from slushies to shots and everything in between! Also a water station to help yourself as needed. Lizabeth was amazing on the beach for her service. That beautiful lady walked some serious steps catering to the folks on the beach. We were very grateful to her during our week. Great service and so pleasant! An asset to the staff at this resort. The sargassum on the beach was not too bad while we were there. The cleanup was pretty efficient. Lets be reasonable...the seaweed is gonna be present, its not a resort issue. We could still enjoy the ocean. I could still walk the beach. There was not potent odor, it did not have a negative impact on our vacation! We we in building 4 which I was happy with because it was close to the beach. It had an elevator which we didn't have to use. The room was fine, nothing fancy...we are not concerned with a "modern" room because we go south to enjoy the sun and beach! It was clean and that's what's important. The Black & White bar was a popular meeting point for our group. This area was much larger than I was expecting from other travelers pics. Lots of seating inside the bar area as well as outside. This also flows into the theater area. You can get coffee there in the morning as the cafe doesn't open until 10:00 which we found odd!?! The coffee was amazing there but bizarre that it opens so late. Entertainment was fun at the Black & White bar. This bar is open 24 hours and has food available as well if you prefer to not go to the buffet. One last point.....we had read so much about the shortage of loungers that we brought folding light weight beach chairs as well as umbrellas. No one in our group used them. I was at the beach early enough that we had loungers. As at many other resorts, if you plan to go to the pool or beach by 10:00-11:00, good luck getting a place to sit! Great value at this resort. Still cant understand how much negativity we read before going! Everyone's experience is individual, everyone has unique expectations, our week was wonderful.

ROOMS: First of all if you book through Sunwing or the like you will be put in the buildings farthest from beach & large pool. They told me there were no (garden) rooms available in closer buildings unless we paid $380 USD to get a partial ocean view room close to beach. So we did upgrade because we really had little choice - my husband uses a wheelchair and it was easier for me running around. Oddly enough, they put us in a garden view close to beach, which she said none were available. They become available by paying $380 USD. Rooms are regular rooms here, we were all pretty happy with the rooms themselves. BEACH: is beautiful but swimming is not good here. I hardly saw anyone try swimming here despite the beautiful weather. Sargassum/seaweed wasn’t too bad - staff was always clearing it away. GROUNDS: One of the best things about this resort! Staff are constantly working on it. It’s gorgeous! We saw deer, lizards, Mexican raccoons and those cute rodents we called coati. Shuttles were almost always available and we didn’t wait long ever - we used a wheelchair and were reliant on the shuttles for transportation. Lagoon was pretty but seemed colder than beach. DRINKS: cocktails were mostly sugar, only 1 kind of beer and unless you upgraded to premium they were just okay. Drinks at premium bar were excellent and the bartender Miguel Angel never disappointed! I wish he was at every resort. FOOD: Good selection but most food was mediocre unless you went to à la cart restaurants which we loved. I must say, for Mexico, the food was nowhere as good as other resorts I’ve been to in Mexico. Nothing fancy here. POOLS: Another one of the best things about this place. A variety of ways to get into pool, including ramp with railing. We never had a problem finding loungers. SUMMARY: Initially we were very angry that we got a far room even though I previously requested a central room near pool with railings. We got over it since we paid about $1,500/week - it’s budget friendly. Although I wish the beach was better and they had more interesting food - the pool, customer service and grounds make up for it. It really is a relaxing place to visit that is close to so many activities in the Mayan Riviera. We miss Miguel Angel.

Beautiful food . Wonderful service Ronaldo and Leo

Room are old but for the price you pay it's pretty good overall especially at the restaurant L'Atelier! The service was good aswell