I read all the reviews I could get my hands on before I left and the negative to that those are the reviews I remembered when I was there but not in the way you think. I thought ‘Are they crazy? You aren’t in Canada!’
The minimum wage there is $5.20 A DAY! and they work harder and longer than most people here so remember that when you read negative reviews about stinky trolleys and mosquitoes. Which by the way there are a lot. Here is my honest but long and very detailed review.
Your Arrival:
After an hour in immigration and 30 minutes in customs and wait on the bus for other Coba vacationers, we had an hour and a half bus ride to the Gran Bahia. We finally arrived at 10pm. We went straight to the check-in and were quickly and pleasantly received. I had read in reviews that the beds were like sleeping on cinderblocks, so request a mattress pad and that is what we did. I also requested a quiet villa and was assured that it was. We got our map and keys and the bellboy took us by trolley to our villa (#11B), top floor.
Rooms: Well it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t as quiet as I had liked. The trolley path was on one side and the activity pool was on the other. At night it was pretty quiet but the microphoned activities at the pool in the afternoon interrupted my nap but I brought my clip-on fan, earplugs and that helped. The beds were hard even with the mattress pad, which by the way was delivered and installed minutes after we arrived in our room.
Everything was clean and the minibar was well stocked. Everyday we left $1US on the boudoir and $1US in the minibar and was well stocked every day with towels, water and towel animals on our bed.
Restaurants and Bars: Food: Per week you are aloud to 3 a la cartes and the rest of the week you can go to any of the 4 buffets on the Gran Bahia property. We choose the Brazilian grill (La Tortugas) and it was awesome. Meat on big swords cut off with machetes, lol. Very tasty but not for vegetarians. Second we chose the Mexican restaurant (Tequila). It was ok but not great. Third we went to the Japanese (the Mikado). This one was definitely the best but the most difficult to get into. Make the reservations as soon as you get there or you may not get a table. We waited till the next morning and we couldn’t get a table till the last night at 9:30pm. It was well worth it. There are many more, 2 Italian, a Seafood, a Mediterranean, and 2 Gourmet. The buffets were all good for buffets but the Tulum buffet was by far the best. The Cozumel was quietest but the smallest.
Drinks: There are 21 bars and I didn’t find one better than another. I did like the self-serve pina colada and strawberry margarita bar in the Coba buffet. I didn’t like the bartenders that served the tippers first but that varies per bartender not bar. But I also understand because of how much they make but how am I supposed to carry a tip in my bathing suit.
Beach/Pools/Grounds: There are 2 Coba pools, a quiet one and an activity pool. There is a swim up bar at the quiet pool and there is a whole list of activities to do at the other and the activity staff is fabulous. There are 3 pools at Tulum but the one by the Tequila restaurant is the smallest and is for ‘Club’ members only. There are 2 at Akumal. The beaches at both are great although the beach at Tulum by the ‘Club’ pool is quiet and well groomed and has lots of beach chairs under umbrellas. From that beach, going toward Akumal the beach got a little less groomed. Beach shoes or thongs are a necessity.
The grounds are beautiful and were always being cleaned and maintained by staff. Every small detail is taken care before you even think of it.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Entertainment: They call them the animation team and they are truly fabulous. They go from 10am in the morning till 3am. There are activities at each pool everyday from 10am till 5pm. Then there are dance lessons and/or karaoke around 7pm till 10pm. Then there is a show every night at 10pm at the Coba and 9pm at the Tulum and Akumal. We saw the Michael Jackson and I thought it stunk. The impersonator and the dancers were dogging it the whole show but the Gala, Entertainment and the Broadway were all good but not fabulous. After the show there is live entertainment at the Hacienda till 12am when the disco opens, yes midnight for those of you who can make it that late but be prepared for a very young crowd and the day’s popular music after about the first 5 songs. Shopping: The Hacienda is on the property and you can take a trolley to get there from the Coba or Tulum lobby. It opens around 10am and closes around midnight. You can buy anything from souvenirs, mosquito repellent bracelets to sunscreen but buy the 30SPF Hawaiian Tropic biodegradable sunscreen at the lobby shops for $13US instead. There is also a medical clinic and a pharmacy at the Hasienda. Tulum Extreme tour: We went on this tour and we were picked up at 8am and taken to a location about 20min away. There we repelled down a tower, did 3 ziplines and then snorkelled in a cenote. They made us lunch and showed us the pictures that they had taken of us and of course you can purchase a DVD of pictures for $25US but honestly they were better than the ones my husband took. Lunch was fabulous. After lunch we got back in the van and were taken to Tulum (about 20min away) and were given a guided tour of the ruins and then we had an hour to shop, explore more, go to the beach and then make our way back to the van. We were returned to our resort at 3:15pm. Now I am a bigger girl and not too adventurous but I had fun and didn’t feel it was too extreme for me.
Other Comments: Telephones: Using your cell and room phone can cost you a fortune, like $6 a min or pay your cell company something like $30 for 15 min and a decreased minute cost. The cheapest way is to buy a Global Link prepaid phone card at the gift shop in the lobby for $10 and you get 45-60 minutes or $20 for 100-120 minutes for US and Canada. Do not be fooled by the phone card dispenser by the lobby house phone or the credit card phone (the blue phone). Then go to the lobby house phone (the white phone) and push the ‘operator’ button below the keypad. Tell the operator that you want to make a call with the Global Link phone card. Then there will be a voice prompting language, phone card number (the one you scratched off on the back of the card) and then enter the phone number (e.g. 1-604-234-5678).
Getting around: Getting around the property is easy. You can walk: From Coba to Tulum is about 20-30 minutes. From Coba lobby to the beach or Akumal lobby is 10 minutes. You can take a trolley: From Coba lobby to Tulum lobby 10 min going by the Hacienda. From the Hacienda you can walk out and catch the Collectivo (public transit) and pay $3US per person each way to either Tulum or Playa del Carmen. You can also get to Xel-Ha, Xplor, or Xcaret on the Collectivo. On the property, depending on where you are going, there are trolleys everywhere going all different ways but nothing takes more than 10 minutes.
Check-out::
You have to check out at 12pm. We were in line at 12pm and check out was pretty quick but there was a long line up. We paid for our lock key ($5US a day). We were warned in advance that all through Mexico there is a theft problem. In this part of Mexico it is most of the time other travellers not the locals. We weren’t being picked up for 3 hours so downstairs there is a locker room with showers, hairdryer and lockers to store your carry-on bags (the bell boys pick up your luggage and store it in a big room but be prepared it is open and not monitored). You still can use all facilities while you wait. When we got picked up we had to go down to the room and get our own bags but they would help you if you needed it.
In Closing:
I hope this review helped you make your choice or prepared you for what you are in for. It is a wonderful place. There is something for people of 4 years to any age but I wouldn’t bring younger kids there although people did. Have a fabulous vacation.