This place is fabulous! The architecture of the buildings is great. You won't believe how tall they are inside. The staff here is great and best of all, they were never looking for tips. You can drink the water from the taps! There were 5 of us on our trip and no one got sick and we ate and drank everything.

My husband and I just got back after spending 1 week at this fabulous resort and had an amazing time! The resort itself is very well run, with pleasant, helpful staff. We had no problems at all when we were there and always felt relaxed and safe. We did hear a few people complain of limited hot water but did not have this problem. It is a huge place and there are shuttle buses to get you from one area to another. Although a small part of the beach is rocky, there was plenty of suitable swimming/snorkeling areas, lots of palapas and beach chairs for use. The best thing about this beach is that because there is a coral reef about 500 feet out, the waves broke there making the water closer to the beach very calm with no crashing waves (warm crystal clear ocean). The beach towards the Tulum side is rougher but beautiful none the less. You can rent snorkelling equipment for 1 hour each day and we highly recommend this even for novice swimmers like us as it was amazing to see all the beautiful fish in waist deep water. The food was good - not fantastic but pretty good for buffet style. Lots of activities at the very large pool to keep young and old occupied. There was a varied age group at this hotel, but most in the 25 - 50 age group I would say. Some of the nightly entertainment was a bit amateurish, however you're in Mexico, not Las Vegas. In the evenings there was always a band playing or a show but it did get a little dull after a few days. We did not find this to be an issue as we're not big partiers and after being outdoors all day by midnight we were ready for bed. Once the show was over at 11:00 everyone heads down to the Hacienda for more drinks and a little dancing, then the Disco opens at midnight. We didn't go to the disco but it certainly sounded like a lot of fun. You have full access to the sister property "Tulum" as well which usually had a band playing or some other kind of entertainment. The hacienda was a big courtyard that had numerous shops and bars. The town of Playa del Carmen is about 1/2 hour away and the ruins of Tulum are about 10 minutes away - both are definately worth visiting. It is much cheaper to take a "colectivo" or bus than taking a cab. For people who have visited the pacific side of Mexico, another nice thing about this area is that because it is fairly secluded, you don't have the local merchants constantly bothering you to buy something on the beach. For shopping and good old mexican haggling definately visit Playa del Carmen. We visited the Tulum ruins and Xel Ha and also did the Coba Mayan Village Tour. Xel Ha is absolutely amazing and you need an entire afternoon there to see it all. We also highly recommend the Coba Mayan Village Tour. Good value for your money, as you get to see a lot and have a little adventure as well! We would recommend staying at the Akumal rather than Tulum as the water is calmer and we noticed that the Tulum area is a little stinky as their sewage system is very near the rooms. All in all, this was a great vacation!! We enjoyed this resort and the surrounding area and would definately recommend it to anyone. In fact we're hoping to go back in April as 1 week was not nearly long enough to see all there is to see.

My Husband and I went for two weeks last summer. It was absolutley wonderfull, the hotel is breath taken, the staff is very friendly and you couldn't ask for a better location!!!All in all a great place to visit!!!

I should first preface this review by saying that this was our second trip to the Riviera Maya. The first time we went was in July 2001 for our honeymoon, which was at the Aventura Palace. So my entire frame of reference is in comparison to that resort. It may not be entirely fair since there is always something magical about your honeymoon vacation. We actually tried to go back to Aventura but we booked to late and Bahia wasthe highest rated resort available. Anyway, first of all the resort is H-U-G-E. We had an ocean view room, 2224, which turned out to be a fairly good location. One of the restaurants was right next to our buidling, La Gran Tortuga, as well as one of the "quiet" pools. As others have stated, these are essentially just not the main pool..not sure where the name came from. We were also a few hundred feet from the 24 hour snack bar that came in very handy with my pregnant wife as my companion. The main lobby was a few minutes by foot and is enormous. The main pillar must have been 10 stories. Not much there except the front desk. As for the food, it was about the same as the other resort, with breakfast being pretty bad. Lunch was decent and dinner was good. As for people getting sick, I never heard of one and I personally tried everything I could get my hands on with no problems whatsoever. I ate at both the Mexican and steakhouse (GranTortuga), which I though was good. One of the biggest problems I had with the restaurants at this resort was that you are limited. If you stay 5 nights(?) you can only choose three specialty restaurants and can only eat their one time. I disliked this idea, with the other resort letting you eat where ever you like, as often as you like. As for entertainment, MOST resorts in this area have lousy shows. If you want nightlife, you are heading to the wrong area. The Riviera Maya is a laid back area, so you really should consider staying in Cancun if you like to party. This resort has plenty of bars, although the drink selection is limited to domestic stuff. Not a problem for me, but may be for others. Another curiousity at this resort is that it is Spanish first. I only had one communication problem (bartender) to speak of, since most people speak English, but you will always be approached in Spanish first. Also, I would say at the time we were there, the ratio of English speaking to Spanish/French/etc. was 30% to 70%. Not sure if it was a seasonal thing or just the way this resort normally is. Aventura Palace was mostly Americans or English speaking, with the majority of the people being around our age.(mid 20's) So, we made a lot of friends and hung out with a lot of people who we had stuff in common with as opposed to the Bahia which was more just my wife and I. As for the weather, PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH. I read one review where someone was complaining about mosquitos. Well, I noticed they went in the middle of the rainy season, so of COURSE there are bugs. The rainy season in that area is approx. June to October so account for this. It isn't too bad though. Our honeymoon was in July. It would pour for about 30 mins every dayright around 5pm. Other than that it was beautiful...AND HOT!!!! 95+ every day with high humidity. The Bahia vacation took place over New Year's...much different climate. Almost no rain and mid 80's. As others have said, bring your essentials as many of your vacations needs are expensive down there. Lastly, we have taken several tours through the resort while down there. Although they can be expensive, we have enjoyed them all, especially the Lobster Dinner Cruise that sails out of Cancun. Agreat one for Honeymooners. Ultimately, we had a great time at the Bahia, but.....and that was the problem. We constantly were comparing it to the Aventura Palace. If it is your first trip to the area, then you should have a great time there. However, if you are just reading reviews to shop around, I would personally spend the extra money for Aventura. My wife and I enjoyed Bahia, but would not go back. Feel free to email me with any specific questions.