Arrival/check-in: we booked through Tui and done the online check-in on the website 5 days prior to coming. We managed to book the restaurants on the app before coming - we had 7 visits. Would recommend doing this before you come as we enquired about changing an existing booking and the were full for our last week. Arrival was quick and easy and bell boys take you and luggage on the cart to your room. Rooms- we booked a junior suite with Tui. We got the old style room. They managed to change us on day 3 as the hotel was full. We got a superior room in Villa 3 - amazing location 🤩. The cost was meant to be $10 per person per night but we didn’t have to pay. Got a helpful manager called Fernando who was great! We are a party of 4, 2 adults and 2 kids; 15 & 12. We had 2 doubles and a double sofa. I would book a suite if returning. There was plenty of storage space for clothes and 4 cases. The toilet is weird and quite see-through so we avoided that area if someone was in. I didn’t think the shower was as see through as others have said; this wasn’t an issue for us. If you are short of towels or have any issues with your room. Dial 8585 to concierge and they will sort it your issue. We left 50 pesos in the safe every few days with a note for beer, coke, Fanta and crisps. These were left every day even when we didn’t leave note or tip! Cleaners were in every day. Pool areas - plenty of sun beds, no need to get up early unless you require one with shade as these are very limited at the main pool. The kids pool has lots of shade and lots of beds. We spent time at all the pools, including the Coba one a couple of days which is really good. The quiet pool is lovely, good music and a chilled vibe. There are Bali beds but I think they are hard to get. We managed to get one on an afternoon as someone left - they are amazing! The main pool has a lot going on; water polo every day, aerobics classes etc. the swim up bar is a plus. Restaurants- the main buffet has so much choice; we only ate in there for dinner 3/4 times but the options are amazing. The Mexican section is so good!! They have a grill area, seafood area with prawns, scallops, salmon etc and they will cook it fresh for you. Pasta area were you choose your ingredients and they cook it fresh (I had this twice and it was great - sometimes a wait but worth it). So much choice for breakfast and lunch too. The waiters serve you drinks to your table. For lunch options, there is also the food trick and main pool bbq area. The food truck does get busy at peak times but it’s great, I had the help yourself nachos most days! The bbq at the main pool is great too. Coba pool food area is a lot better in my opinion. It’s a small buffet but at the pool area, with salads, wraps, fresh pizza, burgers etc. Dinners; we ate at Thali (Indian) - very good. We had the sample dish which was tasters of a lot of the options on the menu. It’s a lovely restaurant with great staff. Tequila (Mexican). Although this is a buffet, it’s very good. The theming is amazing, we got to wear the sombreros for photos. Don Pablo - absolutely loved this place, my favourite of them all. We had a large table for 8 as we went with friends. The water, Filiberto was brilliant. We all had the filet steak but he brought extra prawn dishes, fries and rice for the table. There was so much food but excellent quality. We had Mayan coffe afterwards. Le Gourmet- similar to Don Pablo - amazing food, we all had steak there too. Although these are fine dining, don’t be put off if you have kids. There is a kids menu in each restaurant but it’s not that great. We used the opportunity to try new things, such as lobster Thermidor and fois gras. The restaurants are not pretentious at all and we were made to feel welcome. La Gran Tortuga - rodizio restaurant. I was most looking forward to this but this was my least favourite of all 7. The quality of the meat was not the same as the other restaurants and the atmosphere was a bit meh! Others in my party did thoroughly enjoy their food though, so this is just my opinion. Mikado Tepanyaki- this was very good. The ordering was a bit rushed and we had to initially ask a few times for more wine, but the service then picked up. The live cooking is interactive and the food was delicious. Mashua was our last meal last night. It’s Japanese and Peruvian fusion. The menu is a bit out there but we all tried new things; octopus and ceviche. It’s not to everyone’s taste (including mine) but love to try new things. The soup and main dishes were amazing though. You can order steak, prawn and chicken either grilled or in the wok. The restaurant is lovely and we had a fab waiter called Cristian who took a lot of time to explain what each thing in the menu was. I’m glad we tried this as it’s somewhere we wouldn’t visit back home. Sun- it’s very hot!! Bring lots of sun cream and tops for the kids. Remember a hat too! Beach- some days there was a lot of seaweed but the guys are there all day every day clearing it. Bits of Tulum beach are rocky but just walk along a bit towards La Gran Tortuga entrance and it’s more Sandy. The Coba beach is much better, hardly any seaweed or rocks- it’s only about 10 mins along. Excursions - we booked Xel-ha and Xcaret direct and made our own way they’d and back via a taxi. It was quite expensive but still worked out cheaper than adding on the transport option; plus you have the benefit of going and coming back when it suits you rather than a schedule. These parks are amazing. Water shoes are essential. We also done the snorkelling, zip wires and 4x4 quad biking. We booked this through Destino Riviera. I would highly recommend this trip. Note though; the zip wire is 100 feet high ams 1 km long. Totally took me out of my comfort zone but loved it! We also booked our airport transfers with Destino riviera too. We went into play del Carmen 2 nights using taxi and collectivo. The collectivo is great but you do have a bit of a walk to get to 5th Avenue, about 20/25 mins. 5th Avenue had great shops and is very lively at night. We were with the kids so didn’t go into any of the places. We had a meal one night and street food the other; both were great! Staff- the stafff at this hotel are brilliant. We haven’t met a ride or unhelpful person in 2 weeks. They honestly can’t do enough for you; with or without tips. We did tip throughout the holiday, usually 20 or 50 pesos at the bars or for services and 200 for evening meals. This is obviously different for everyone. I hope this has been helpful. I need to get back to pack 4 cases 😩😬😭

Stayed for 5 days of relaxation in Tulum . Stayed in block 9 which was about a 4 minute walk to the lobby and 3 minute walk to the snack bar very good. Only suggestion when it comes to rooms is ask for a high floor - trolleys are constantly running and being on the ground floor made it very noisy at night and in the morning. Pools are beautiful, the beach was a disappointment - it is contained by these big “whale” like rocks which blocks your view of the ocean. Also a very rocky walk into the water I recommend water shoes. Food was very good, lots of variety at the snack bar and buffet. A la carte dinners are very difficult to book only got into one and did not enjoy it. All drinks at the bars are very good no complaints. Night time activities we’re great, the disco(club) and live music performances in the lobby. I would 100% suggest staying 7 days or more to really take advantage of all this resort has to offer. I also highly recommend booking an excursion! Tulum did not have a lot of kids on the resort, it was more middle aged couples and older adults vs. Coba had a lot of families and kids. Akumal is luxury very very beautiful although if staying at Tulum or Coba you do not have access to this property. The staff were all amazing - I called for towels to my room received them within 5 minutes and then got a follow up call from front desk making sure I received them! Amazing service.

My friends and I greatly enjoyed our stay at the Bahia Principe resort in the Riviera Maya. We stayed in the "Tulum" area of the resort. When going out into the ocean I recommend bringing water shoes as the ground was quite rocky in some places. There was hardly any seaweed in the water or on the beach. The restaurant buffets had a wide selection of food both in quantity and in variety. The staff we interacted with was very friendly and nice. Some were quieter based on their comfort level with English. I appreciated the hand sanitizer that was available at the entrance of every restaurant / food area. I also liked that you could carry drinks around the resort in hard, reusable plastic cups. I highly recommend this resort and will stay again.