My husband and I spent 5 nights at the Blue Bay in early January. Because we booked the trip only 6 days prior to leaving, we found our choices were somewhat limited. We got a very good price through Apple Vacations, which included airfare, so decided to give the resort a try.
Let me first say that we had an exceptional experience at a different resort three years ago, so the bar was set high. This resort turned out to be a great disappointment in many regards. We had booked a "garden view" room. When we arrived, we asked if we could upgrade and were told there was nothing available. The front desk person checked us in and gave us one key. We asked for another and were told there was only one key for that room. We went to look at the room, and realized it was directly over the front door, a noisy spot when people are returning from the clubs late at night. When my husband sat down in the only chair in the room, a big puff of dust came out of the chair. I went back to the front desk and asked for a room with two keys. Suddenly, an ocean view, junior suite was available. The second room was lovely and clean, with a comfortable bed and a refrigerator.
The food was our biggest disappointment. We found the food at the buffet to be at best just okay, and as the week progressed, many items from earlier in the week were recycled into different dishes, with the meat getting more and more tough. Oysters was an odd experience. The service was fine, but the food was bizarre--instant mashed potatoes, sauces made from a Knorr-Swiss packet. The best meal we had was outside at the pasta restaurant in the evening, which was lovely.
We were unhappy about the tiered bracelet system. Because we booked online, we had blue bracelets, so could only get call liquor, which was awful--vodka that tasted like rubbing alcohol and gin that tasted like kerosene. We found this especially odd, given that their "top shelf" vodka was Schmirnoff, which we saw in a liquor store in Cancun for $6 a bottle! However, if we were sitting with people who had gold bracelets, we could get whatever we wanted, and some bartenders would overlook the blue bracelet if we put a dollar on the bar. We actually went into Cancun and bought liquor, so that we could have a decent drink in the evenings.
Because of the tier system, there was a whole section of the beach which was cordoned off for gold bracelet members. We spent a lot of time joking with people we met about feeling like second class citizens.
On the upside, the pool was adequate and the weather was lovely. We met a lot of friendly, interesting people while we were there. The housekeeping staff did a great job, and Vicky, the concierge was absolutely terrific, going the extra mile for us any time we asked for help.
We did sit through the time share sales pitch, which gave us a better understanding of how the resort works, and made us even more certain we'd never go back. They should take a closer look at the sample suite they take prospective buyers through--the furniture was ripped and smelled horribly of mold. The sales pitch got more and more pushy, even though we told them up front that we had no intention of buying that day.
Despite the problems, we had a nice vacation, and enjoyed our time there, but would never return to this resort.
