Having read some scary reviews about this hotel i was quite apprehensive before arriving at the Blue Bay, especially as the drive from the airport seemed to be passing through a very poor part of Cancun in order to get to the hotel. This hotel is not on the main strip of Cancun and a taxi (which are always present at the hotel) is a must if you wish to go to the centre, the taxi cost about £10 there and back, therefore if you were thinking of leaving the hotel on most days or nights, i would definately consider spending the money you would do on a taxi fares on a hotel in the tourist zone of Cancun. However as the hotel is smaller and set apart from the main strip it has a more homely feel to it, and you end up knowing most of the people in your hotel by the end of your trip.

When me and my boyfriend checked i was quite dissapointed with the room. It had two 3/4 beds when we booked a double room, it also had a view of the car park, no fridge, and it seemed the air conditioning did not work. We decided however to put up with it as we dont really like to complain, but after one sleepless night without air conditioning we had to say something to reception. Instantly a maintenance man came to repair the air con however it could no be fixed so we were moved to a differently room. The room we were moved too was a world apart from the previous one. This one had a sea view, was bigger, had a double bed and cold air conditioning! We felt like we were in a different hotel! There still was no fridge and the reception told us that standard rooms cannot have a fridge, which was quite dissapointing especially if you want to have some drinks on your balcony but oh well!

The pool at the hotel is quite small but it is adequate for the size of the hotel. There are always lots of sunchairs either on the beach or around the pool and the beach towels are free to borrow each day. The beach at the hotel is lovely but the sea does have quite a lot of sea weed in. Each day there is a man who comes to shovel away any sea weed off the beach, however if you do like to swim in the sea and you dont like sea weed, i would perhaps look elsewhere!

The entertainment at the hotel is great too, they had footy matches, pool games, vollyball and free kayaks which you could use in the sea! The entertainment of a night however was only ok. The theatre shows were good, but the basic evening entertainment did not last very long (til about 10.30pm) then around the pool went dark. So unless you were heading to one of the clubs in Cancun you were sort of left wondering what to do!

The food is nice however after two weeks of staying at the hotel i found it came very repetitive. Breakfast is the same every day, then for dinner it was mainly different variations of rice or pasta dishes which can become quite boring. If you are not a fussy eater like my boyfriend you will most probably eat everything they have to offer, however i am a little fussier and found myself struggling on certain nights to find a proper meal to eat.

The hotel on the whole though is lovely. It is very clean, the staff couldn't do more for you, and it has a very relaxed vibe to it. It is definately more of a couples and family hotel (Its sister hotel Temptation is more for partying) If i was to return i would most probable spend a little more and stay in the main strip, but this is only because i like to go out of a night, if the hotel were in a better location i would stay there. But if you are simply looking for a relaxing beach holiday, this hotel is definately one to look at.

First, let me say that like my other trip to the Yucatan (Mayan Palace - Riveria Maya), I personally did not choose the hotel. Although we were not RCI members, we were considered RCI because of the connection my friend's mother has being a pilot for a major airline - we got a great deal on the price.

Now, let me say a few things upfront. This is the only time I had stayed in an all-inclusive. Second, my only comparison was Mayan Palace - which felt like a 5 star resort - and I had an amazing trip there. So perhaps I am biased. Third, when we made the reservations (4 ladies in our mid twenties on a getaway trip) we were under the impression that we would also be able to visit the sister resort, Temptation, for free. Between the time we reserved and our arrival, that had changed. Blue Bay caters to families and Temptation is adults only - In retrospect we would have preferred to have stayed at the other resort. The day pass to get in was upwards of $60... no thanks.

The resort staff was SUPER friendly and they were the best part of our stay. They learned our names immediately and were really great. We had a fun experience with the evening activities and the staff was incredibly talented, comedic and entertaining. They do evening "shows" in their theatre - We found the Pirates and Lion King Shows to be entertaining - probably because we also love Disney. I don't know that "spring breakers" would be at all interested in the shows, but families with children up to about 12 or 13 (teens would yawn!) would really appreciate them.

The first morning, we went on the "tour" for the timeshare in order to get free spa coupons. We ate breakfast with an attractive guy who spent the whole time flirting with us and trying to close his sale. The bloody marys we were being served (we hardly finished one before another arrived, many times over) were a clever tactic on their part to attempt to loosen us up to the prospect of buying. Like I said we just wanted spa coupons and frankly the on the beach massages we got with them? Totally worth it!

The other two things we did was to pay the Premium nightclub cost to go out to Senor Frogs which included transportation there and unlimited drinks (worth it) and the catamaran trip with the spinaker (again, very worth it). We went on one of the booze boats for the catamaran - Half the boat was topless on the way back and it was definately NOT a buttoned up trip. Only go if you know what you are getting yourself into (we did, and it was awesome!). The snorkeling was not fabulous - we actually spent our last day at the resort going on a cheap tiny boat from the guys at the hotel and saw much better reefs for about $35 us a piece.

Speaking of drinks though - Those bloody marys we got on the TS tour were literally the ONLY full strength drink we had in the entire week we stayed there. We tried everything - The only solution was to drink beer which of course immediately got warm due to the temperature. Even the RED WINE had been watered down (so gross! and I love wine!) The Oysters (sp? on the name) restaraunt was eh - everything was over salted. I think we ate there only twice even though we had been given enough to have eaten there 4 or 5 times. The buffet food that is served as the all inclusive is the same...every...single...day. No variety. None. You eat cactus on day one - you eat the same dish, served the same way, day seven. I was not a fan of the food whatsoever.

There were 4 of us ladies and due to being RCI guests, we were given rooms on the ocean side, first floor. We had three side by side rooms which connected to each other, four beds, three bathrooms, and the center room was a full kitchen, pull out couch, full dining area and television. VERY spacious accomodations! The only downside of the rooms that I found were that they were dated (decor) and the bathrooms were subpar (we had problems with hot water a couple days).

As many others will say - If you stay here and cannot get a room on the ocean side, you will not be pleased. There is a HUGE HUGE difference in accomdations between the two.

Again, perhap it is always this way at all-inclusive resorts (sub par foods, bad drinks) but if it is I can't imagine why people stay at them. I wouldn't stay at Blue Bay again unless I was looking for a very inexpensive, family friendly place to get away.

Went with my partner and her family in Sept/Oct 08 for 14 night all inc.
We were very impressed with the accomodation, we had an appartment within the hotel comprising of 3 bedrooms each with own bathroom. All the baths were jacuzzi type but only one of the three worked. Did complain twice to reception who sent out the maintenance guy, he had a look and disappeared but didn't return. Gave up in the end.
Also had a large living area, and fully equiped kitchen (see photos).
Food was ok first week, but menu repeated 2nd week, so ate out some nights.
Some meals are served in the sister hotel across the road, on show nights. Also a couple of in resort restaurants.
The hotel is quite a considerable distance from the up town area of cancun, and outside the hotel there is nothing but open ground. A small shuttle bus runs up and down constantly, mainly picking up workers and local people. This takes you downtown for a few cents, and from there you can get the bus into uptown where all the action is.
A cab will cost you around $7-10 max. During our stay it was very humid, and most of the days were overcast, so not impressed with the weather! Advised best time to go for sunshine is Jan/Feb. The hotel is right on the beach, with views over the little marina. All inclusive does not cover brand name spirits such as Bacardi, only local spirits. Eating out is reasonable, recommend Bubba Gump uptown for fish/sea food. Many night clubs and bars which put on mexican style shows.Some famous clubs such as Senior Frog, and Coco Bongo. Beware of very large lizards sunning themselves on your balcony, 1st thing in the morning! In conclusion, would go again but in early part of the year.

An absolutely beautiful hotel. All staff - from maids to bar staff right up to managers - are so helpful and go out of their way to ensure you have the best holiday you can. Set about twenty minutes (in a taxi) away from the main "Party Zone" (costs around 200 pesos or $20 in a taxi to get to the party zone), it is a lovely hotel. Although it is chilled and very relaxing, the entertainment team provide plenty of entertainment - from beach volleyball and pool basket ball to sword fights on the roof dressed as pirates!! The shows they put on in the theater are brilliant and are definately a must see (although sit at the back if you dont like to be integrated into the shows lol).
The pool itself isnt the biggest although when your straight onto the ocean it doesnt really matter. Whilst we were there we found that, at weekends, the hotel seemed to fill up with lots of Mexican families. In some cases, they outnumbered the amount of tourists in the hotel!
The beach is gorgeous and despite the many reviews on here complaining of sea weed it is absolutely fantastic. Yes, there is sea grass washed up on the shore but it really isnt that bad. In fact on most mornings there was a man shovelling the grass onto the back of a truck to remove it from the beach. He did this so early that many tourists never even saw the sea grass washed up.
You will find that bar and restaurant staff will go out of their way to help, refilling drinks before empty and in some cases having drinks ready for you as soon as they see you walk towards the bar!! Catering staff were fabulous as was the food - which varied each evening. It was a buffet style service for each sitting although for those that prefer an a la carte menu there is opportunity to book at the on site Oysters restaurant.
We had maid service every single day and the day we left we even had a note left by our maid wishing us a good trip home. This highlights the nature of the staff at the hotel- always happy, polite and ready to help.
Tips - we tipped literally a couple of dollars each time. If we had been sat at the pool bar all day, at the end we would tip the bar tender a couple of dollars. The same went for restaurant staff and the maid service. We were told by our rep not to tip every single time just as and when you felt necessary - although believe me with the level of service you recieve you could easily tip every single member of staff every day.
Another tip for travellers to Mexico is to take both Dollars and Pesos. When buying souveniers (like from the hotel store) pay in pesos as you will almost always recieve your change in pesos. Although it is better to pay for excursions and tip in dollars.
Overall, the holiday was absolutely fantastic with not a single complaint. I would advise anyone wanting a calm and relaxing holiday to go the Blue Bay hotel. Absolutely brilliant!!