Great place to stay - definitely not "uppity" so if you are looking for that type of place do not stay here. The rooms have a great view of the ocean, the beach is beautiful! Everyone who worked there was very friendly. The tips are included and I read some reviews that said to tip more to get better service and I did not find that at all. I got great service! The bartender had my mojitos ready for me every 20 minutes. The main buffet had burned down not too long before we got there but they accomodated nicely and I would definitely recommend to stay again. I wouldn't say it was super kid friendly but that was okay as I was leaving mine behind. Overall for the value, the food was great, rooms great, drinks were not watered down, it was a perfect little getaway for me and my husband.

We have recently returned from a week at the Akumal Beach Resort (ABR). The resort is aptly named because it's right on a wonderful beach. The location is magnificent. We spent a lot of time under the palapas on the beach soaking in the warmth.

If you stay at ABR, the snorkeling right off the beach is so great that it is hard to think of going to do anything else. Many of the guests go out every morning. We saw beautful fish and sea turtles within minutes of entering the water every time. (We were so impressed by the marine scenery that we visited and joined the Centro Ecologico Akumal (CEA), just up the beach, to learn more and help preserve the great experience for others.)

The food ranged from okay to good. Buffets for breakfast and lunch. Dinner was sometimes buffet and some times ala carte Mexican or Italian. The Italian side of the restaurant looks out at the beach. (Did I already mention that the beach was magnificent?)

The wait staff in the restaurant ranged from pleasant to very friendly. Ditto for the Animation (entertainment) staff you see every day around the resort. I would characterize the resort desk set as business like and efficient.

The deluxe room was okay but not luxurious. The bed was very firm (hard). The water pressure in the shower was anemic. The lighting in the room was plentiful but also anemic. It was, however, a great place to sleep and recover from the day's adventures.

Overall, our stay in Akumal at the ABR was a great experience as was the entire trip to Mexico (our first). Besides the beach and snorkeling, we visited Chichen-Itza, Coba, Tulum, and the shopping zone of Playa Del Carmen. I'd recommend all of them as things to do while on the Riviera Maya. It will be hard for anyone to duplicate our ABR experience, though, because the resort changed dramatically the 2nd day that we were there. The main main restaurant, main bar and lobby all burned down early the 2nd morning of our stay. (It was a spectacular show!) Security evacuated everyone from the building and we stood outside for about an hour and half in the early morning darkness. It took the fire department a long time (American standards) to arrive because, as I understand it, they came from Tulum. No one was seriously injured, though, and the resort staff adapted and handled the situation gracefully throughout our stay.

My husband and I stayed at Akumal Beach Resort on March 16/08 for two weeks. We had no complaints as the beach and water was fantastic. I've never seen so many beautiful fish and turtles in my life!

The only negative thing I have to say is that the beds are terrible! The mattress was so hard that I had to roll a blanket up and put it on top of the mattress so it didn't hurt my back. If they got new mattresses that would make a world of difference.

The standard rooms needed updating badly but they were clean.

I would definitely go again.

Margie
Regina, Sask.

My husband and I went to ABR from Apr 25th to May 2nd. I had done a lot of reading and research prior to going so we knew what to expect before we got there.
This place is a jewel from the past. Yes, it is a 3 star hotel but it's location, gorgeous beach which you can snorkel off of and friendliness of the hotel staff make it a 10 star!
The beach goes on and on and is a wonderful mix of coral and fine powdery sand.
We stayed in building 7 which is at the end of the resort at the far right second last room in fact.. Some people would find the walk to the restaurant a bit of a hike now as we had a fire when we were there and had to use the a la carte restaurant which was situated a bit further away. It wasn't a problem for us. We were on the 3rd floor in a large superior room which would be a standard room in our culture. Clean, clean with firm king size bed, separate toilet area from shower. No problems with hot water - always available. There is a safe in the room and the only
thing that we would have really wished for was a little fridge. You can ask for one as we found out for a fee.They have water coolers outside in the halls so you can always get purified water to drink.The balcony was large and this building almost sat on the beach with huge palms providing a wonderful breeze constantly which believe me you need as it is hot.

The food was good.We had more choices prior to the fire such as their wonderful rolls and breads and their fried taco shells but really that was a small thing in the scheme of our trip. The snack bar had great chicken wings, tacos, guacamole, fresh thin crusted pizzas and very yummy ice cream. The drinks were good and we brought our own insulated mug which the bartenders filled to the brim with whatever you wanted. We had the Mexican restaurant food on our last night and it was better than anything we had had at 5 star a la cartes. Mexican coffee is wonderful -ask for it as well as their cappuccinos.

We had the resort to ourselves more or less after the fire but they are still bringing people in so it will be at half capacity
until they rebuild. Even prior to the fire the resort was very comfortable and you wondered where everyone was.
The swing bar was up at the other end of the beach and you could sit on the swings and just mellow out.
We took snorkels and goggles and although we are not experienced snorkelers what fun it was to snorkel from your beach and see turtles barracudas and multi-coloured fish!
Just past the swing bar you walk a little way in to the village of Akumal where you can get most anything you might want. We loved the shrimp tacos at Lucy's, her smoothies and the best homemade icecream you can imagine. We also ate at a pescadores restaurant near the bakery and my husband had the best calamari in garlic sauce he's ever had. I had the butterfly shrimp and yes they were wonderful.
The town of Akumal is across the mainhighway from the village and one night we took the taxi to town to see bull fight -no killing. They had a town carnival going on and our tour director had said it was safe and so it was. The warmth of Mexican people is to be experienced.
Took in the Tulum ruins and swam in the beach below so bring your bathing suit. Took the collectivo just ouside the hotel on the highway and waited 3 minutes for them to pick us up-cost $2.00 or 20 pescos. Lots of gift shops outside of the ruins and eateries. Go early say 8am, before the heat and crowds and you will have the place to yourself.
Our Sunwings rep offered to move us to a 5 star new place that had just opened but we opted to stay put. One couple who went said it was nothing but wall to wall people and no better food and not friendly staff-just opulence and a beach a third the size of ours.

Just so you know at this point in time what has been destroyed by the fire: the main dining room near the pool, reception area, bar, excursion and gift shop. The manager of the hotel came around and spoke to all of us. The fire was handled very professionally and because they are used to disasters with hurricanes they just handled everything with all of us in mind. What gracious hosts they are so no wonder we didn't want to leave!
We have been to many resorts 5 star included and we would be hard pressed to find one that has all the warmth and charm of Akumal Beach resort.