Akumal Beach Resort - All Inclusive

The gift shop was closed the entire time. If anything was needed we had to walk to town, but it is a very short walk. Looks like the economy has really taken it's toll on this little resort. We always love it there.

off season so only about 50 people. So, was quiet and relaxing and had attentive staff. Put me in a room that was not ocean view as I paid for - had to show management my voucher and was given my upgrade. My friends from England had been at the resort once before this year and was staying 3 weeks this time so, you would thing as returning customers, the length of stay, and with hotel not busy they would have been given an upgrade! Property waaay out there - although nice prefer to be closer to shopping etc. The cost of airport transfers $100 too much. Food was good. No refrigerators in room - which I prefer.

We were thrilled with the deal we got for our four night honeymoon. The place was restful and we had a great time exploring. We got a little bored after we did all the attractions that were free, and being on a young-person's bugdet, we couldnt really afford to go elsewhere, taxis were spendy. We found out later that you can catch a city bus for cheap. Anyways, the food was fine, loads of it, we ate fresh salsa and guac at the outdoor bar every day, free open bar.. it was fun. Kind of far from cancun, but very cloe to the tulum ruins.

I have never been to an all-inclusive before, and spent many hours researching online. the ABR was the perfect choice for me. I wasn't looking for a super-luxurious, mega-resort. I was looking for a quiet, relaxing, low-key non-pretentious place with a beautiful beach. The room was nice, with a balcony facing the water. Because of low occupancy, there was always a palapa right where I wanted it. There were activities if I wanted them. The food was surprisingly good, with lots of healthy choices, which is my preference. All the staff were very friendly and helpful when needed. The town of Akumal is nearby and there's a wonderful lagoon for amazing snorkling nearby. The hotel offers excursions and the one I took was great, to the Sian Ka'an biosphere. I am perplexed by a lot of the bad reviews I've read of the ABR. I am pretty picky about food and a nice room, though not needing luxury,and was completely happy with ABR. I have been recommending the ABR to all my friends ( who seeing my pictures all want to go) and plan on going back in January. the only strange omission at the hotel was that they didn't provide soap in the room. I didn't care because I always bring my own, preferred soap, but FYI

This hotel and vacation package are the ultimate destination for the tourist who wants an affordable, relaxing, vacation in the Mayan Riviera right on the Carribean Ocean that you can tailor to take in the local sights and completely enjoy the swimming, and also exploring the reef and seeing the giant sea turtles that swim every day in Akumal Bay. We had an amazing and relaxing adventure there. Parts of the coral reef begin 20 ft (and in some places less than that!) from the beach. Colorful fish swim out to meet you in the area of the beach near the massage palapa, since some of the guests feed them bread. This was our 3rd visit to ABR in 5 years and it seems like the coral reef which was hit pretty hard last year by the hurricane (as it was all over the Yukatan, apparently) has begun to revive. My husband and I spent every day snorkeling, swimming and exploring the reef. He swam out into the deeper waters while I stayed closer to shore until I felt completely confident in my snorkeling. You can also swim or walk down to quiet little tourist village of Akumal where there are a few restaurants and small shops with handicrafts and convenience foods. This is the bay where the giant sea turtles graze on sea grass. There is an ecological center there with exhibits that tells about the turtles and the reef and where volunteers go out every night during egg laying season to help protect the turtles who come up at night to nest. Because of this it is important not to walk on the beach at night unless you go as part of the center's excursion. We went on it last year and got to see several giant turtles come up on the beach and dig nests and lay eggs. You actually get to see the whole thing! We even got to see some hatchlings emerge and scurry down to the water. There is a charge for this walk and it happens very late at night so be prepared to get practically no sleep if you decide to do it. But it is quite an experience, if you like that sort of thing and the staff there is very enthusiastic and dedicated. You can book excursions to the usual tourist attractions at the hotel or you can get more eco friendly adventures via the Eco Center. We booked a trip to Muyil to see ruins and these ancient shipping ponds used (and created)by the native Mayans hundreds of years ago that was incredible! Our guide was a particularly amazing Mayan man who knew all about the local wildlife and the traditions of the indigenous people. We floated down a mangrove lined freshwater canal, swam in a cenote, took a boatride on the ponds, and explored a bit of the jungle, as well as the ruins of Muyil with him. Many of the local people speak not only Spanish but also Mayan in the area. At the hotel, the staff provides a Spanish lesson in the afternoon and last year I took a Mayan language lesson. You can take the Collectivo into Tulum for just $2.00 p.p., where you can see the magnificent Tulum ruins. Also, you should not miss Tulum Center where you can for Mexican handicrafts,see the colorful local produce at the open air market shops and eat at one of the funky little restaurants (great food!). Playa del Carmen in a $2.00 ride also; it is alot more upscale than Tulum. Also bigger. We rented a car for a week in Tulum when we went a couple years ago; but you can also do this via the hotel. We really enjoyed going to Coba (about 1.5 hour drive). There is a beautiful lagoon in Akumal to which you can walk (it takes about an hour by foot) call Yal Ku. I highly recommend that if you like to see colorful fish and an unusual habitat. The fresh water spring at the beginning of the lagoon discharges crystal clear fresh water which flows into the sea. So at one end the lagoon is cold and fresh and as the sea water mixes in it becomes bleary and warm and there are lots of colorful fish in the lagoon. A sculpture garden is intersperced in the area which is pretty cool and up the canal are beautiful, private homes. A note o...

We were upgraded to the Barcelo Palace due to the H1N1 virus scare. This was a pleasant surprise and made this vactation one of our best overall Mexican vacations. We typically take 1 trip a year to Mexico and have stayed at several all inclusives and the Palace exceeded all of our expectations. There was a great variety of foods and we tried all specialty restuarants that were opened. We enjoyed the Japanese restuarant the best. The French restuarant was ok but they were short staffed so we will say it was still a great meal. The beach was wonderful and the snorkeling was fantastic. Sea turtles were feeding right off the beach and we saw them every day. We saw several sting rays, 1 manta ray and several barracuda. There was some wind which churned up the sand a bit but by the late afternoon the water clarity improved. The room we stayed in was gorgeous and the staff was extremely attentive. We tend to tip all service staff and a few bucks goes a long way. We plan on returning with other family members in the future and recommend that you give the Barcelo Palace resort a try. You will not be disappointed.

First the bad. The rooms were just ok, but the beds..it was like sleeping on pavement.I woke up hurting several times a night, and in the morning... The food was pretty bland and their selections really limited. If you like to eat fish and pasta every day/night then it wouldn't be so bad. The resort was pretty empty and was closing the day we left due to the lack of customer's . (swine flu panic) That was kind of nice, you got to know everyone and never had to wait for a table chair or drink! Bad for them though..it is really sad what the media has done to Mexico's economy. The entertainment staff was the best by far. Always friendly and treated everyone like family, as did the bar staff. The beach is the the reason to go if you like to snorkel! We saw too many fish to count. It was beautiful. A side note: we rented a car through orbitz and bought the insurance thinking we were good. When we arrived we were told that insurance was no good in mexico. We had to buy theirs. So we spent $72 on orbitz insurance for nothing then couldn't reach them to complain while we were down there. There were several couples that had the same complaint.

There was not a lot to do here. This place was just God- Awful. The rooms were so old and in desperate need of renovation. I could stand in front of the closed door in the room and see day-light coming in from the outside. So, the door was not very secure. The food was just terrible! Variety was NOT their "spice of life". Lastly, this place was just too far from "civilization".

This hotel is all about LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. Hotel is a little old but is being fixed up. Pool and food was great. Beach in front of hotel is AMAZING. The snorkling was fantastic. Hotel has beachside cabanas which were great to spend the day at. The town of Akumal is just a 10 min walk down the beach. Best location of any place we have stayed in Mexico and will be back in 2009.

As other reviews have been the resort is older, but we like to spend our money on doing other activities when we vacation rather than stay at 5 star resorts and never leave the grounds. We scuba dived, snorkeled, went deep sea fishing and traveled the area. The beach is perfect! We rented a car in Cancun and were able to visit the attractions in the area. We stayed in building 7 and really didn't have any complaints. The staff was very friendly and we met some amazing people from different countries. We enjoyed the evening walks on the beach. The resort was full when we were there but you never felt crowded. This was our first tropical trip by ourselves without kids or family. We're hooked on the tropics and having margarita with an ocean view!