Site Inspection Gran Bahia Principe

Wondering about the Gran Bahia Principe in Riviera Maya?

Gran Bahia Principe
Riviera Maya, Mexico
Site Inspection 2/20/09

Introduction:
Grupo Pinero owns the 3 resorts located at this site just south of Akumal. The Tulum was built first (1998) and is rather stretched out along the beach. The Akumal was next in 2001, and is contained on a shorter span of beach. The Coba is “off beach” - built behind the Akumal resort in 2005 - with a fairly small stretch of beach allocated as “Coba Beach”. Shuttles whisk the guests to and from the beach area and among the 3 properties.

I was originally scheduled to inspect the Gran Bahia Principe Coba. The Sales Executive conducting the tour asked if I would like to see the Coba in depth or get an overview of all 3 resorts. Since I had never inspected this property, I asked for the overview of all 3. Quite a tour to squeeze into 1 hour, but I’m glad I did!

Best Features:
• 1.5 Kilometers of gorgeous white beach
• Expansive pools
• Shopping area with little shops

Overview:
• All 3 main pools have a swim up bars
• Kid’s section in all main pools
• Gourmet restaurant at each resort
• Spa at each resort
• Fitness Center
• Guests are able to eat 3 times in 7 nights at the a la carte restaurants
• Main buffets have cooked to order eggs, kids section, fresh fruit, theme nights for dinner.
• Reservations are required for the a la carte restaurants.
• Free scuba in pool for 1 hour each day
• Kids club 9-5
• Babysitting Available
• Tennis courts
• Dive Center
• Nightly entertainment
• Same standards in all hotels
• Majority of facilities are handicap accessible

Bahia Spa:
• Nice spa with hydrotherapy area - massages, facials, Jacuzzi, cold plunge pool, spa shop, etc
• Couples massage rooms available

Outdoors:
• Gorgeous and very large stretch of beautiful white sand beach
• Well manicured grounds and sparkling pools

Indoors:
• Clean, well-kept indoor areas and lounges
• I toured a junior suite (in the Akumal resort) which included the sofa & sitting area.
• All rooms have balconies or terraces.
• Coba has all (1080) Junior Suites
• Akumal has 588 junior suites and 72 Double rooms
• Tulum has 474 double rooms and 384 junior suites

Summary:

Please note on the photos that I took a lobby photo in each resort to delineate them. Coba was first with the Mayan theme, Akumal had the Large Mayan “Poseidon” in the fountain, and the Tulum resort had the large palapa with the single stone column.

Maybe it’s just me, but for some reason, I thought this property was closer to Tulum. It’s actually just south of Akumal (quite a bit north of Tulum) which makes it a little easier and quicker to get to from the Cancun airport. It’s still about an hour and a half to this resort because at this point in time, there are 2 Police Filters along route 307 (traffic crawls through a designated point for the police to check each vehicle) and two areas of construction - an overpass is being built in Puerto Aventuras and another in Akumal. Traffic funnels to one lane for both projects.

Spotless and well-kept resort(s) with one of the largest, nicest stretches of beach in the Riviera Maya. This beach is gorgeous! Note in the photos how many people are out and about ON the beach (not at the pools) and I certainly understand why.

Even though the Coba is “off beach”, they have constant shuttle service to their beach area, and it is easier to access than I thought it would be (see resort maps included with photos).

We were treated to breakfast at the Coba’s main buffet restaurant and the food as well as the service was very good.

Overall, this is a huge, spacious resort complex with 2568 rooms (among all 3 properties). In January 2009, they had a 98% occupancy rate. That’s a lot of guests! The rooms are grouped into smaller buildings - 6 to a floor, 3 floors to a building. This tactic actually succeeds in making a very large resort seem more manageable.

I would rate this as a solid 4 star property. For customers looking for a great beach & a well-kept property, this resort could be the perfect match (especially if they like to dive and/or snorkel). The on-site dive center is a nice plus.